President Donald Trump cut his weekend at Camp David short Saturday evening and raced back to the White House without explanation, and was promptly ridiculed for who was seen tagging along.
“Natalie Harp, 35, the always-at-Trump’s-side ‘human printer’ who churns out copies of positive articles about the 80-year-old president, climbed into a separate helicopter just before Trump boarded the Marine One presidential chopper, according to the pool report,” The Daily Beast’s Mary Papenfuss wrote Sunday in the outlet’s report, also arguing that Trump “can’t leave home without her.”
Trump’s unusually close relationship with Harp has reportedly unsettled the White House, with eagle-eyed journalists increasingly flagging her appearance by Trump’s side during recent outings.
Trump was expected to spend the weekend at Camp David in Maryland, but cut the getaway short to return to the White House Saturday evening, sparking alarm among analysts that a “major escalation” in the Middle East may be imminent. In tow, as flagged by USA Today’s Francesca Chambers, was Harp.
“[Trump] landed at the Ellipse on Marine One at 7:57 pm. He walked to the motorcade and promptly departed for the White House,” Chambers wrote in a Saturday night pool report. “A support copter landed much closer to the press on the Ellipse at 7:52 pm. Walt Nauta and Natalie Harp were among the group that was seen walking off that helo.”
As noted by Papenfuss, “There was no obvious reason for Harp to be with Trump at Camp David,” outside of one explanation: “other than that she accompanies him everywhere.”